* India’s new aircraft carrier will have its sea trials delayed. The problem isn’t the contractor this time – it’s the weather in northern Russia.
* US base closures: if not this year, maybe the next?
* The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank proposes their recipe for “sustainable pre-eminence.” You’ve heard it before: more Asia/Pacific, more Air/Naval, more joint interdependencies. They are sticking their neck out on capabilities: cut 1 CVN, stop LCS in FY17 at 27 ships vs. a planned 55, get less F-35Cs for the Navy and more F/A-18s instead.
* John F. Sopko, a DOJ veteran, has been nominated as Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
* There’s a food fight over food supply billing to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in Afghanistan.
* French President Francois Hollande is sticking to withdrawing his guns from Afghanistan by the end of 2012.